Bueckers scores 22 to help No. 13 UConn rout St. John’s 92-49
NEW YORK (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 22 points and Ice Brady added a career-high 17 to help No. 13 UConn rout St. John’s 92-49 on Saturday.
Aaliyah Edwards added 16 points for the Huskies (14-3, 6-0 Big East), who had five players in double figures and shot 64.4% from the field.
UConn blew the game open with a 13-0 run to start the second quarter. The Huskies led 24-18 heading into the period before taking over. Bueckers scored five points and Edwards had four during the burst. The Huskies led 44-25 at the half.
Bueckers ended any hope of a Red Storm comeback by scoring five quick points in the third to help the lead balloon to 29 points. The Huskies led 74-39 after three quarters.
UConn has won its six conference games by an average 36.0 points. The Huskies looked poised to blow the game out early, going up 22-6 before the Red Storm closed the opening quarter with a 12-2 spurt to get within six.
Jailah Donald scored 11 points to lead St. John’s (10-8, 4-2), which had won six of seven coming into the game.
The game was played at UBS Arena — home of the New York Islanders. It’s the second consecutive season that these two teams played at the site, which also hosts a handful of St. John’s men’s basketball games.
INJURY BUG
UConn has lost four players for the season to injury — the latest being Aubrey Griffin (ACL). The Huskies were already missing Azzi Fudd (ACL/meniscus), Jana El Affy (Achilles) and Ayanna Patterson (knee).
HONORING THE PAST
UConn will honor the 20-year anniversary of the 2003 and 2004 teams that won national championships as well as the 10-year anniversary of the 2013 and 2014 that won titles as well when the current team plays Notre Dame on Jan. 27.
The 2013 and 2014 teams will be inducted in the Huskies of Honor at halftime of the game, joining the 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004 championship teams.
UP NEXT:
UConn: at Seton Hall on Wednesday.
St. John’s: hosts Butler on Wednesday.
___
Get alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here.
___
AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball